Song Cook’s Corean Chilli – Mississauga

From the many accolades and constant reviews from some fellow forum members about a Korean restaurant called Song Cook Korean Restaurant in North York, I finally found out there was a location in Mississauga. Its called Song Cook’s Corean Chilli, located on Dundas and Dixie. The ironic thing about this is that I have been driving by this restaurant every day and did not realize it was a Song Cook restaurant. The Song Cook sign is very small and you can’t see it off the road. There is a large red TOFU sign above the store. I did notice the TOFU sign and sometimes wondered what it was… Now I know!

Song Cook is located in an unassuming plaza right beside Wacky Wings. From the outside of the store, the restaurant seems small and unfamiliar patrons would wonder if this restaurant is any good. When we walked into the restaurant we were pleasantly surprised by how nicely furnished, clean and large the place is. You can see in my photos above to get an idea of the nice decor of Song Cook. The restaurant was pretty busy too with a steady stream of people coming in.

I was a little nervous before coming into the restaurant because I was afraid of ordering the wrong foods. I know that alot of Korean dishes consists of hot red sauce and spices in their food and personally, I find it too hot for my stomach. We were presented with a menu that had a huge selection of different dishes to choose from. The menu was in Korean with english definitions. A chili beside each item indicated if the dish is spicy. I recognized some items on the menu, such as teriyaki dishes, bulgogi, unagi. There were some combination meals.

I ordered a combination meal for one called – Half JaJangMyun + Half KhanPoungKi – this consisted of noodles covered with a black bean paste, plus sweet and spicy chicken (see above photo). The noodles were to die for. There were peas mixed in with the sauce and I’m not sure if there was meat in the sauce. It tasted so good, I could’ve just eaten that alone. The sweet and spicy chicken was large enough for two people. It was crispy on the outside and covered with a sweet and spicy sauce (sort’ve like sweet and sour pork). The meat was tender but most of the flavour was on the outside of the chicken, whereas the meat didn’t have much flavour. It had a great taste over all. But I found my stomach burning later on. I have the leftovers at home and think I will eat it in a few minutes for my lunch.

We also ordered the Unagi with Rice (which is eel and rice, found in Japanese Restaurants). See the photo above. I tried to find the Korean name for it from their Vaughan website, but I can’t see it on their menu. Maybe this dish is only offered at the Mississauga location? The unagi was garnished with fish roe and seaweed flakes. The fish was fresh and soft.

They served us kimchi and yellow radish before our meals came. They were very generous with the portions and we brought the leftovers home with us.

The combo meal was only $12 and the unagi meal was only $8.50. Our total bill including tip, tax, and drink only came to $28! I mentioned to others that the inexpensive prices sure don’t reflect on the quality of food and decor of the place.

I’m planning on going back again this weekend to try one of those stone rice bowls.

Edit Sunday, May 29th, 2011:

So, I just went to Song Cook again today. We ordered the black bean noodles with seafood (#51 on the menu) plus two pieces of grilled mackerel. Service was even better today than it was the other day. The waiter was very polite and helpful. The meal today only came to $19, but I felt like giving them a 25% tip. Even with the large tip, the total meal was still so cheap. The cashier gave us candy

Sunday, April 8th, 2012:

I have been back to Song Cook numerous times since my posting here. I’ve tried a variety of dishes since – some delicious, others not to my taste buds. I have had their spicy seafood noodle soup which is so delicious.

I have had their bulgogi, which I didn’t find as tasty as I usually have it grilled. I have tried the dumplings (they are fine, nothing special). I’ve tried a stone rice dish (found it bland and dry).

Today, we ordered the kalbi short ribs – SOOOO GOOD.

The dish is about $12.00 and they give you about 3 pieces of ribs (thats about $4.00 each). They were flavoury, not too sweet, soft, perfect texture, and you didn’t have to struggle when biting or chewing it off the bone.